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Behind Stout Defense, UMass Hands Penn State Third Loss

from Press Release

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The No. 14
University of Massachusetts men's lacrosse team limited No. 5 Penn
State's potent offense to record an 8-6 victory on the road at PSU
Lacrosse Field in University Park, Pa., on Saturday afternoon.
Goalie Zach Oliveri finished with 15 saves in the cage, including
11 made after the Minutemen took the lead during the second
quarter. Nick Mariano led the offense with three points on two
goals and an assist while Connor Mooney tallied twice as well.

UMass (6-1 overall, 1-0 CAA) also received multi-point efforts
from Robert Lynott and Grant Whiteway as both Minutemen finished
the day with a goal and assist. Jeff George and Brendan Hegarty
each provided one tally to complete scoring.

James Fahey led the close defense with a career-high four caused
turnovers to go with three groundballs for the senior. Aaron
Madaisky and Austin Spencer helped to limit the Penn State attack
as both finished with a pair of caused turnovers and one groundball
apiece.

TJ Sanders had three goals for the Nittany Lions (3-3, 0-1)
while Shane Sturgis notched two goals and helped out on one
additional Penn State tally. Austin Kaut, the CAA Preseason Player
of the Year, made 10 stops against eight goals allowed in the
cage.

To start the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) showdown
between two top-15 nationally ranked teams, Penn State's Tom
LaCrosse made a quick statement after the Nittany Lions battled to
win the opening faceoff. LaCrosse's sole goal of the game came just
49 seconds into play. The Minutemen did not ripple the back of the
Penn State net until late in the first quarter, when Mooney
connected with five minutes, 30 seconds to play after he attacked
the left side of the cage. Mooney juked the Penn State defender
right, went to his left and tallied the Minutemen's first goal of
the contest with a diving shot.

However, Penn State took the lead back with 2:04 left in the
first quarter on a rocket from Sturgis.

The Minutemen responded on the attack with four consecutive
goals during the second quarter to move ahead, 5-2.

Both defenses held strong until the 8:27 mark of the second when
Whiteway followed Mooney's lead in attacking the left side of the
net to tie the game at 2-2. Lynott's second goal of the season came
with just 4:45 left in the half and gave UMass the lead for good at
3-2. George then fought through two defenders to tally for the
sixth time on the season with 3:40 left in the half as he squeaked
the ball just below the crossbar.

After Hegarty's goal - his second in as many games - Sanders
edged the deficit down to 5-3 during a man-up chance when he scored
with 47 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

The sides exchanged empty possessions following the break as
neither team scored until Mooney netted another acrobatic goal at
the end of a man-up opportunity with 4:39 left in the third
quarter. Mooney circled the left side of cage from X to receive a
Whiteway pass. After Mooney nabbed the toss in mid-air, he turned
and fired in UMass' sixth goal of the game to push the lead back to
three for the visitors.

Sturgis retaliated with a goal of his own with 2:54 to play in
the third; however, Mariano needed only 44 seconds following
Sturgis' tally to net his first of the day. Mariano then extended
the lead to four with 9:30 left to play on a one-time feed from
Lynott.

Penn State showed urgency on attack throughout the remainder of
play as the home squad tallied 11 shots on net during the
conclusion of play, one of which found its way by Oliveri with 1:53
left to play as the Nittany Lions moved within 8-5 of the
Minutemen.

Penn State ended the contest on an extended man-up opportunity
due to a non-releasable penalty leveled against UMass faceoff
specialist Joe Calvello, who led the Minutemen with four
groundballs against the Nittany Lions, with 1:53 to play.

James Fahey and Bob Fahey spearheaded the man-down defensive
effort put forth by the Minutemen in the closing minutes. James
Fahey caused a Steve Aitken turnover with 1:17 left in the game
before Bob Fahey picked up the loose play. Following Bob Fahey's
groundball, UMass was able to clear the play into its offensive
zone and take a timeout with 43 seconds remaining.

Penn State's James Burke recorded a caused turnover to regain
possession for the Nittany Lions with 36 seconds to play, but
Oliveri notched his 15th save on an attempt by Kyle VanThof with 22
seconds to play to keep PSU from cutting the lead to two goals.

After VanThof picked up the loose ball following Oliveri's final
stop, Sanders scored the game's last goal with only one second left
on the clock.

Penn State earned positive margins for shots taken, 36-33 and
groundballs, 28-21. UMass finished 19-for-20 on clears while the
Nittany Lions went 20-of-21 in the category. Calvello won 6-of-15
faceoffs against Drake Kreinz of Penn State.

The Minutemen shift back to non-conference play with a trip to
No. 19 Fairfield University (4-2) for a 3 p.m. contest in
Fairfield, Conn. The game marks the final non-conference meeting
between the sides as the Stags join the CAA for league play in
2015.